Excel Hull Stingrays defenceman and assistant coach Drew Bannister has won the FBB Player of the Month award for February after claiming the first star award in games against Coventry and Dundee in the middle of the month.
The award comes after a number of standout months in East Yorkshire in which he has solidified the club's blueline, helping to turn the club into one that can win any night they step onto the ice.
As a result of his play the former NHLer came close to winning FBB Player of the Month accolades in each of his two full months at the club, losing out to Andrew Coburn and Jereme Tendler.
However, this month Bannister has finally and deservedly claimed the award with 40 points - handed to him in two man of the match performances against the Stars and Blaze on the 12th and 19th - ten points ahead of club captain Kurtis Dulle, and a further 15 points in front of top scorer Tendler and a resurgent Konstantin Kalmikov.
With just one month remaining in the regular season, the race is now on to see who will claim the 10/11 FBB Player of the Year award - the first year the award has been based on a game-by-game ratings system.
36 year old Bannister becomes the first defenceman to claim the award and he joins fellow imports Jereme Tendler, Jason Silverthorn and Andrew Coburn as a winner of the monthly award.
